Skeletons in the closet

At the initial stage's skeleton World Cup in Whistler, Canada represented only Petersburg Maria Orlova, has taken as a result of 13th place. As for Pavel Kulikov, who was considered the number three team iron, his misadventures continue. In the spring, he narrowly escaped disqualification because of the positive samples for buy Meldonium and autumn in Sochi thundered straight from the slopes to the hospital and lost his place in the national team. And back it will not be so easy.

When in the spring of this year, we announced that deposited Kulikov doping test was positive for Meldonium, from St. Petersburg did not meekly wait for the proceedings, and wrote an open letter to the then Minister of Sports Vitaly Mutko. Petersburger declared his complete innocence and complained about the actions of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), demanded a large sum at the opening of the control sample "B". Mutko responded quickly: "In the near future we will meet with the athlete and see what we can to help him. Nobody Kulikova will not leave. " Indeed, the story just a couple of weeks later ended happy ending. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) conducted a study and recognized - the period of withdrawal meldonium from the body much more than expected. So Kulikov escaped with only fright - in mid-April he pardoned one of the first.

But save still failed for a place in the team. October 18 after the first day of training sessions for the Cup of Russia, Paul was hospitalized in Sochi city hospital with a diagnosis of "acute inflammation in the abdomen." Doctors fairly quickly put him on his feet, in early November Kulikov started training again, but "train" at the initial stage of the World Cup has already left. Moreover, from St. Petersburg I received a letter signed by a senior coach Daniel Cheban with the requirement to pass sports equipment (skates and sled) to the warehouse of the federation.

In response, Paul and his father and coach Nikolai Kulikov again engaged in an epistolary genre - have written letters to Ciobanu, the new head of Bobsleigh Federation and Skeleton Alexander Zubkov (the former head of George Bedzhamov is on the run in connection with suspicions of financial fraud) and new head of the sports committee of St. Petersburg Paul Belov. Inventory managed to defend, but with finding funds for individual training situation is more complicated. Now skeletonist at his own expense completes training camp in Sochi, expecting in mid-December to receive funding for training on European roads, and from January to return to international competitions. But just to break into the World Cup will not be easy, the level of competition is very high - in the first stage in the Whistler Olympic champion Alexander Tretyakov won the second place, Nikita Tregubov - the fifth and debutant Yegor Veselov - 12th.

Meanwhile, it is obvious - the ex-head coach Willi Schneider national team will not be back. German tutor himself has assured us in November - it must be paid for 15 months, while Zubkov insisted only on a two-month debt. Whatever it was, to continue to cooperate in such an atmosphere it would be difficult. As reflected in the care team coach-foreigner? Schneider's forte is the creation and preparation of the inventory, and if a man is coping and old baggage, the women's "first attempt" in season 2016/17 out lumpy - no one has even made its way into the top-10. Even though the 13th (second among the Russians) the place is not so bad for the prize-winner of the World and European Championships Orlova. After all, at the end of last season, her prize-winner of the world championships and Europe, Schneider did not take to the championship of the world 2016, motivating the decision reduction results. There was even talk that the 28-year-old athlete to retire, but she still managed to qualify for the fall of the World Cup. So that 24-year-old Kulikov faint not - the chances of a return to the national team and a trip to the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang is still there. Even if his relationship with the senior coach yet is hardly warm.